“Channel 9” moved to RF38 using 9 for its PSIP. That’s what created the opportunity for PCMC as noted above.
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NJ PBS set to shut down in July 2026
- Thread starter Theater of My Mind
- Start date
The combined population of Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union and Passaic counties, New Jersey, is 3.7 million people covering an area not much larger than the five boroughs of NYC, comprised of one dense population block with no distinct borders between the individual towns. If this area were all one city, it would be the third largest city in the United States, behind NYC and L.A., and ahead of Chicago.
While some of those residents are NYC commuters, their political, cultural and local news interests are mainly focused on their home in New Jersey, not New York. But since mass media is all about money, every single outlet originally from New Jersey has moved itself to NYC to chase the money in the bigger, more well-defined city. Even WNET, the public broadcaster licensed to Newark, NJ, identifies as New York Public Media because New York is where they can get more donor money.
The same is true on a smaller scale in the central and southern parts of New Jersey closer to Philadelphia. Every outlet close enough to Philadelphia caters to Philadelphia, with the notable exception of WKXW which is a one-sided conservative talk outlet.
It turns out one of the most populous areas in the United States is a bit of a news desert. So, a New Jersey based public broadcaster with a mission of focusing on New Jersey news, culture and politics does fill a programming hole and really is in the best interest of its residents.
While some of those residents are NYC commuters, their political, cultural and local news interests are mainly focused on their home in New Jersey, not New York. But since mass media is all about money, every single outlet originally from New Jersey has moved itself to NYC to chase the money in the bigger, more well-defined city. Even WNET, the public broadcaster licensed to Newark, NJ, identifies as New York Public Media because New York is where they can get more donor money.
The same is true on a smaller scale in the central and southern parts of New Jersey closer to Philadelphia. Every outlet close enough to Philadelphia caters to Philadelphia, with the notable exception of WKXW which is a one-sided conservative talk outlet.
It turns out one of the most populous areas in the United States is a bit of a news desert. So, a New Jersey based public broadcaster with a mission of focusing on New Jersey news, culture and politics does fill a programming hole and really is in the best interest of its residents.
Yes, that's a foregone conclusion, when you're wedged between two of the largest cities in the United States.
Too bad one of the major networks couldn't have gotten firmly situated in New Jersey back in the early days of TV. Then you might have something like, for instance, WABC or WCBS broadcasting from Newark on channel 13 (which was originally a commercial allocation). That way, they could have been the default "news leader" for New Jersey, kind of like the role that WCAX fills in Vermont, or WMUR in New Hampshire.
What is now known as WABC was originally WJZ, located in the Westinghouse electronics plant on Broad Street in Newark. Westinghouse sold WJZ to NBC and it moved to Radio City. WOR was originally in the Bambergers department store on Market Street in Newark.
In fact Channel 13's original studios when it was a commercial TV station was next to Symphony Hall on Broad Street in Newark. NJ Public Broadcasting used those studios when it was owned by the state. So much broadcasting history that's now all forgotten.
The NJ/NYC/Philly situation is far from unique. It happens in lots of massive metro areas where there are multiple population centers in close proximity. Radio waves don't stop at political lines, and the gravitational center of mass media is always going to land where the population is largest and densest.
Places like California's Inland Empire and San Jose, Northwest Indiana, Worcester MA, Tacoma, Akron/Canton, or across the border, Hamilton, Ontario are all areas that would be significant markets on their own IF they were more separate geographically from the even larger cities nearby. But they're not.
Places like California's Inland Empire and San Jose, Northwest Indiana, Worcester MA, Tacoma, Akron/Canton, or across the border, Hamilton, Ontario are all areas that would be significant markets on their own IF they were more separate geographically from the even larger cities nearby. But they're not.
And then you have the situation in reverse, where two cities very near each other do indeed make up separate TV markets, with the dividing line being roughly equidistant from the two cities, and encompassing fairly large stretches of territory behind the respective cities in the opposite direction. Examples would include Washington and Baltimore, Cincinnati and Dayton, and even though it's kind of a bizarre situation (a very large market right next to a small one), Pittsburgh and Wheeling/Steubenville. The W-S market ends literally five (Steubenville) to ten (Wheeling) miles east of its core cities, and then goes fairly deep into eastern Ohio.
that is correct, as I said hopefully the Montclair State thing will help the state, but NJ lost its only VHF full power commercial channel assignment, which is what the state always wanted, after Channel 13 left.
When the state got the Channel 9 assignment, they even got a complete physical complex abit later in Secaucus, NJ to do TV from - and it was a VHF commercial operation . . . until FOX purchased Channel 9 and moved its operation to its sister station Channel 5 facilities in NYC.
Some would say it doesn't matter where the studios are, they still cover NJ, yes but like I said, NJ fought and got what they wanted but it was taken away when FOX purchased Channel 9.
Interesting proposal in the legislature that would allow the public broadcasting authority to auction off unused tax credits:
current.org
Lawmakers eye funding stream for NJ PBS, local news
New Jersey lawmakers are poised to tap unused film tax credits to shore up the state’s local and public media.
current.org
True too we mentioned this in ones where parts of Massachusetts gets Providence TV stations because Rehoboth, MA and New Bedford, Massachusetts is the City of License or Transmitters is in Massachusetts but its signals are directed to Rhode Island. But the argument went that those two cities in Massachusetts should be in the Boston DMA simply because its Massachusetts type argument. We had to talk about short spacing issues or not a priority at the FCC arguments to that one.
Yes Theres also San Francisco and Sacramento TV Markets in that cities like Fairfield/Suisun city are equidistant from both San Francisco and Sacramento. Nielsen draws the boundary for both Sacramento and San Francisco TV markets somewhere near Fairfield and Suisun City where its one of the largest cities in the country to be located on the border of two TV markets. But then again when the lines for TV markets were drawn Fairfield and Suisun City didn't have the population it has as of 2026 at 120k people.
Yes, Solano County is split, with a much smaller western portion (hard to tell precisely where it splits on the 2019 Nielsen map) in the SF market, and a larger eastern portion in the Sacramento market. County splits for DMA purposes are more common in California than probably any other state.